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This is the relevant California law: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...

It says that if you do the work on your own time, with your own equipment, and without using any of your employer's trade secrets, the employer can't claim ownership of it unless it relates to the their business or R&D.

I think the issue is that large companies like Google do so many things that almost anything involving software or the internet would relate to their business and not be covered by the law.



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